In a great failure on behalf of the internet, I can't find anything more than confirmation on the crag that it's gone, apparently from someone falling on a cam placed behind it and multiple people were hurt.

Was there any signs of the block going in the preceding weeks? Had it been raining just before it went? Was the gear somewhere where many others would have used and probably fallen on the same placement before?

Frog throws a lot of small shit off all the time, but just occasionally, it throws of something huge. Scary shit.

Happened at the end of June. The rescue chopper was there. The post on ACAQ was a share from the Fassifern Guardian's report. https://www.facebook.com/FassifernGuardian/photos/a.298004513580742.64316.289846877729839/1342584419122741/?type=3

At least a couple of people with serious injuries.

The photos I posted on the ACAQ post if you can't see them too:

As it sits now:

Reference images from prior. Tom is on Guns of Navarone here. Odin goes straight up under it.

Standing on, and gear placed behind it! The even bigger one on the right looks suspect too IMO given this development.

After many dry years the last couple of wet ones have certainly thrown down some stones.
Tree roots are leveraging everything off and the extra water inside the rock helps it.

There is not a single climber that hasn't stood on, kicked, thumped and pried that boulder and not wondered how it stayed there.
By the look of the after picture there wasn't a lot holding it there.
Although it always felt solid, that is somewhere I would never have placed gear.

Just confirms that sitting at the base of a cliff is not always a nice place to be and that helmets at least are a sensible option at Frog.

Part of the reference posted here for those that don't have access(?).

The Fassifern Guardian
23 June at 07:39

*Update - incident - Mt French*

Two climbers were injured late yesterday afternoon when a part of the cliff face broke away near Frog Buttress on Mt French. “The men were with a group of climbers when a very large piece of rock broke off,” the Guardian was told. “They managed to dodge the rock as it was falling but were injured by flying debris when the rock hit the ground and shattered.”

One man suffered a fractured arm and a possible fractured leg when he was hit by a piece of rock. Another piece of flying rock hit a second climber and fractured his foot. The men were treated at the scene by Boonah Ambulance paramedics and the Critical Care Paramedic from Ipswich. The more severely injured climber was winched up into the Careflight helicopter and flown to a Brisbane hospital. The second climber was stretchered up to the top of the cliff and taken by Boonah Ambulance to the Ipswich Hospital. Other services assisting in the rescue included the Boonah Auxiliary Fire Brigade, the Ipswich Tech Rescue and two other fire crews.

So apart from needing a good edit, they suggested cleaning up Frog cracks so there were no more loose blocks. Crags generally exfoliate, at a greater or lesser pace. That loose block probably survived a good yank with a crowbar, only to pop off 20 years later. Although somewhat noble, it is an unrealistic idea.

I'm currently at Frog. The list of things that will potentially defoliate is endless. Almost every route I've done this week has had at least one contender for the next moderate-to-big block to come off. And I have just been doing laps of classics so far.

On 30/07/2017 Wendy wrote:>I'm currently at Frog. The list of things that will potentially defoliate>is endless. Almost every route I've done this week has had at least one>contender for the next moderate-to-big block to come off. And I have just>been doing laps of classics so far.

What specific climbs would they be Wendy?
Frog is pretty clean climbing.

My memory is that the top had quite a bit of scree, and it was definitely an area where even as a teenager I thought a helmet was a good idea. The other point is that the nature of the rock - which gives it the nice clean cracks that it's known for - means that it's going to form blocks. These blocks may be firmly anchored, or only held in place by a few points of friction.

If the area got frost then stuff would fall off more rapidly, but as it is the weathering is relatively slow. The result is that you're going to have sections which are reasonably well held in when tested, but over the course of decades will lose enough material that they loosen up.

Another factor could be heating from bushfires, which could cause cracking. Have there been any decent size ones around the base in the past few years?

(PS it's probably just Wendy refusing to admit that anywhere but Victoria could have worthwhile rock...)

On 31/07/2017 rightarmbad wrote:>On 30/07/2017 Wendy wrote:>>I'm currently at Frog. The list of things that will potentially defoliate>>is endless. Almost every route I've done this week has had at least one>>contender for the next moderate-to-big block to come off. And I have>just>>been doing laps of classics so far.>>What specific climbs would they be Wendy?>Frog is pretty clean climbing.

I love Frog and I climb here heaps but there is a lot of hollow rock, wedged blocks, friable flakes. Yesterday I did Pirana and Barbed wire canoe. The entire pillar at the back of the chiney feature in Pirana is hollow and probably not really attached. It's probably not going anywhere in a hurry, but then didn't we think that about Odin, Sorcerers apprentice, the thing above theory ledge? BWC has multiple thin flakes some of which move, and just as you breath a sign of relief that you are at the top, you climb over an eski size block just sitting on a sloping ledge.

Clockwork Orange COrner is almost entirely disconnected blocks. That whole first pillar could go, then all the stuff wedged in the crack for the rest of the route. I've no idea where it gets 2 stars from. It's been put with Theory in my list of routes never to repeat at Frog.

Lou and I have an ongoing joke about the next magic block because we keep finding so many of them. I could list more but I have to run. I think the lesson from the big rock falls of the past few years is that almost any of the wedged blocks and friable flakes at Frog could go at anytime.

On 31/07/2017 Dr Nick wrote:>Disclaimer - it's been over 20 years since I've been to Frog... but.>>My memory is that the top had quite a bit of scree, and it was definitely>an area where even as a teenager I thought a helmet was a good idea. The>other point is that the nature of the rock - which gives it the nice clean>cracks that it's known for - means that it's going to form blocks. These>blocks may be firmly anchored, or only held in place by a few points of>friction.>>If the area got frost then stuff would fall off more rapidly, but as it>is the weathering is relatively slow. The result is that you're going to>have sections which are reasonably well held in when tested, but over the>course of decades will lose enough material that they loosen up. >>Another factor could be heating from bushfires, which could cause cracking.>Have there been any decent size ones around the base in the past few years?>>(PS it's probably just Wendy refusing to admit that anywhere but Victoria>could have worthwhile rock...)

Burning off caused a lot of instability a couple of years back. The area around the base of Devils Wart got some redecorating. There have been another couple of notable rocks I remember coming down on the climbers left side over the last few years. The other close call I can think of was when Matt and Alex and team had a rock slice their rope a few years ago. I believe they were filming and hanging on two ropes though.

Someone will probably get conked sitting around the base below Plume Ledge one day. The area seems to attract bigger groups with potentially higher percentages of newer climbers and sure enough as soon as someone tops out on Faki and tries to set up and anchor they knock down a few blocks which bounce their way down.

So yeah, definitely need to stay on your toes. That said, the roof with Odin is quite a unique formation for Frog. Having had this block come down makes you look at that whole orange wall with new eyes and realise the the roof was probably formed by most of the cliff falling down, and evidentally it is still happening. I'd be suss of any of the blocks still remaining there. The big one up and to the right of where the magic block was is absolutely massive.